| Jesse Bering | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jesse Michael Bering May 6, 1975 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Psychologist Writer |
| Employer | Queen's University, Belfast |
| Religion | Atheist |
| Website | |
| jessebering.com | |
Jesse Bering (born May 1975) is the Director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture[1] and a Reader in the School of History and Anthropology at Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. A research psychologist by training, he writes the popular weekly Bering in Mind[2] a featured blog/column for the Scientific American website. Bering is notable for his frank and humorous handling of controversial issues in psychological science, especially those dealing with human sexuality. The column was named a 2010 Webby Honoree for the blog-cultural category by members of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. He also received the 2010 "Scientist of the Year Award" by the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP), an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He attended graduate school at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he earned his MA degree (1999) studying chimpanzee social cognition under the guidance of comparative psychologist Daniel J. Povinelli. He then transferred to Florida Atlantic University, where he obtained a PhD in developmental psychology (2002). His doctoral advisor was the evolutionary developmental psychologist David F. Bjorklund. Bering's academic research is in the area of the cognitive science of religion. He is a co-principal investigator in the Oxford University-based 'Explaining Religion' project,[3] a three-year, €2 million project funded by the European Commission. Bering is also a co-principal investigator in a John Templeton Foundation project to study the evolutionary relationship between cooperation, morality and religion.
Bering was a faculty member at the University of Arkansas for four years as an Assistant Professor of Psychology from 2002-2006. He has served as the Director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture at Queen’s University, Belfast since 2006.
He is the author of the recently published book (February 2011) The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life (W. W. Norton). In promotional material from the book publisher’s website, Bering refers to God as an “adaptive illusion” that has “outlasted [its] evolutionary purpose.” In the United Kingdom, the book is published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing and is titled The God Instinct. The book is scheduled to be released in November 2010 in the United Kingdom and February 2011 in North America. Advance rights have also been acquired by Germany (Piper Verlag), Italy (Rizzoli), Portugal (Temas e Debates), Japan (Kagaku-Dojin), Spain (Ediciones PAIDÓS), and the Netherlands (Nieuw Amsterdam).